


gonna set this dance alight

by faerie_ground



Series: a kingsman/bodyguard crossover [3]
Category: Bodyguard (TV 2018), Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Mission Fic, Other, School Reunion, set six months after east end lights, this is like mission fic and school reunion rolled into one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 17:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18474073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerie_ground/pseuds/faerie_ground
Summary: Eggsy says, all of a sudden, “So, I have a school reunion.”David promptly spits out his coffee.





	gonna set this dance alight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [invallid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/invallid/gifts), [bernietaupin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bernietaupin/gifts).



> someday i'll post these eggvid oneshots in order 
> 
> tw for mention of childhood abuse, drug use, animal smuggling

It is on a Monday morning that Eggsy drops the bomb on David.

It starts out a morning like any other- David wakes up, plants a customary kiss on Eggsy’s forehead and then heads for the shower. Eggsy is still asleep- tired out from coming home at 3 am last night after single handedly dismantling a drug ring in one of the estates in south London- so he heads for the kitchen, deciding on scrambled eggs and toast. Eggsy comes down a half hour later, toweling his hair dry as he walks over to kiss David good morning, the plates cooling on the table. He’s clad in a warm grey sweatshirt and sweatpants, and David helps himself to a grope before Eggsy detaches himself to go and feed JB and Lavender- fat free cat food, he informs David rather sharply. David’s left with the task of feeding Officer Oatmeal who’s out dozing on the front lawn, sleepy brown eyes gazing at the butterflies hovering over the rosemary bush. None of them are gardeners- David can recognise what looks to be an overgrowth of weeds and he winces before turning away, pretending he didn’t see it.

“When you’re done lazing around you can come in, you dozy dog,” he tells Officer Oatmeal, who butts her nose into his knee. She’s the only one not on a diet in the house, Eggsy deeming her far too healthy and skinny to need one anyway. In fact, she’s under strict instructions by Eggsy to fatten up instead.

Once the animals are done feeding- Eggsy sporting a suspicious scratch on his left forearm- they settle down to eat their scrambled eggs and toast. David’s taken a large gulp of his scalding coffee when Eggsy says, all of a sudden, “So, I have a school reunion.”

David promptly spits out his coffee.

“Jesus,” Eggsy says, grabbing the spare kitchen towels and rushing to David’s side. “Are you okay- did you burn anythin’?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” he says, staring at Eggsy who sheepishly sits back down again. “School reunion?”

“Yeah,” Eggsy says, his eyes darting everywhere but at David himself. “See, the thing is there’s a- ten year reunion or somethin’ at my old high school, so they want us all to come back. It could be fun.”

“But- it’s not- I mean, you can decline, can’t you?” David asks, as Eggsy visibly wilts. He feels terrible, but he can’t just out and say he’d sooner jump in the Thames. Reunions have never been his thing and he’s hardly Eggsy’s better half- he’d rather not follow Eggsy to any functions where they’re bound to be the subject of much scrutiny.

“Yeah,” Eggsy says, tapping his fingers in an erratic fashion on the tabletop. “But see- the thing is- Merlin intercepted the letter before I received it, and uh- he has a mission for us.”

“A mission,” David says flatly. “For us. At your high school?”

“Yeah,” Eggsy says. “One of the pricks I attended school with, Rottie- he’s apparently runnin’ some sketchy illegal smugglin’ ring, they think he’s trying to find clients at the reunion.”

“Of course he is,” David says acerbically, and then winces when Eggsy immediately stiffens. “Shit, I didn’t mean it like that- come on, Eggsy-”

“It’s okay, I’m done with my breakfast,” Eggsy says stiffly, pushing away his half eaten plate and holding his limbs so rigid it looks as though a light wind may break it. “Briefin’s today at 12pm, I’ll just head to HQ first. Talk to Merlin about my fuckin’ shit neighbourhood for a bit.”

David stands up too, reaching for Eggsy’s arm and cursing at himself for being a fucking idiot. Eggsy dodges his grasp, stomping all the way to the stairwell and up it too, the walls almost shaking with the force of his anger. David sighs, leaning his hip against the kitchen table- he’s lost his fucking appetite too.

Lavender trods into the room, hopping on one of the chairs and curling up on it, almost searing David with the force of her glare.

“Oh, come off it,” he says irritably. “You’re just a fucking cat, stop staring at me like that.”

*

Eggsy doesn’t acknowledge him when he comes into the briefing room later, holding himself stiffly in the chair and staring straight down at the folder in front of him. Merlin’s glancing between him and David, eyebrows raised in a question that he shakes his head no to, wincing. The irritation crackles off Eggsy in waves- normally, he wouldn’t be that pissed off by one careless remark because god knows David has made hundreds. There is something else gnawing at him.

Once David’s taken his seat, Merlin clears his throat, and starts on the briefing. “Tom Rottsworth,” he says, pointing to the screen where a man with a fairly elongated, rat like face is shown in horrible streetwear. “Known to his close friends as Rottie, and has been part of an underground smuggling ring that’s grown exponentially in size since last month. We now have intel that he’s meeting with a client at the reunion- many civilians, so there’s easy cover. You’ll both have to tread carefully with this, we don’t want him knowing we’re on his tail.”

“Smuggling what?” David says, opening the folder and flipping through it, before stopping at the page that says,  _ “A part of Dean Baker’s gang at Rowley estate, years 2008-2016.” _ His heart jolting to a stop he looks up to see Eggsy staring intently at him, something unreadable in his gaze. When their eyes meet he instantly looks away, his cheeks flushing.

“Animals,” Merlin says dryly. “Lemurs, to be exact. Rottsworth isn’t the kingpin, he’s only a pawn- and one that may be very useful to us. You two need to go in and plant a bug on him that’ll allow us to listen in on his future meetings with the actual kingpin.” He pauses here, and affixes them both with a glare. “I rarely put you both on the same mission because for some reason, it always goes tits up. Make bloody damn well sure it doesn’t this time. We need Rottsworth alive.”

“Its a reunion,” Eggsy says, his voice sharp. “It won’t go tits up.”

“That’s what you said for Moscow and then look at what happened,” Merlin retorts, folding his arm and leaning against the wall of the now black screen. “Do you know how many favours I had to sacrifice to the Kremlin to get you both out in one piece?”

David remembers Moscow. He remembers running across the cobbled streets, bleeding out from a hole in his side and pulling Eggsy along who’d broken his ankle. They’d barely made it to the helicopter, David collapsing once he’d made it in to the sound of Eggsy screaming his name. He’d woken up to the typical beeping of the hospital monitor, wrapped up like a mummy and Eggsy curled up in the chair beside him, ankle in a cast and butterfly bandages adorning his face like a colourful plaster board.

“Moscow had been fun,” he says, knocking his foot into Eggsy’s, gratified when a small smile lifts the corners of his lips.

“No, Moscow was terrible,” Merlin snaps, pointing a finger at him. “And I don’t want a repeat of it, so you’ll both do as I say and go about this peacefully. Don’t turn a fucking high school into a battlefield.”

Merlin takes a few more minutes to go over more details of the mission- Andrew has new suits, he informs them, outfitted with the latest gadgets which includes a watch that can hack into anything and a tie that functions as a grappling hook. Merlin will be their point of contact, staying in their ears at all times while they go about socialising in the party.

“And when I say socialise I mean it,” Merlin says, looking at David specifically who glares back, unrepentant. “Talk. Mingle. Be nice.”

“I can’t do any one of them,” David says, smiling when Eggsy chokes back a laugh. The small smile grows just a mite brighter.

Uther will be their getaway driver for the evening, chauffeuring them to the event and staying there in case they need a clean getaway. Merlin makes sure to emphasise the point that he doesn’t want there to be a need for a clean getaway, but just to be on the safe side, he’ll be there. The amount of precautions he used to be given at the Department of Royalty Services, he thinks, pales in comparison to Kingsman. More than that, it was the assumption that Arthur and Merlin genuinely gave a shit about their agents- David had felt none of that from Anne Swanson who didn’t have a single compassionate bone in her body, and any care he did feel from Lorraine had been a horrible facade. It hadn’t always been like this either, Merlin had told David once- their previous Arthur before Harry had been a nightmare, in more ways than one.

When Merlin dismisses them, Eggsy stands up abruptly, the smile gone from his face. He jerks his head in a quick, awkward nod before saying, “I’ll be at the shooting range,” and walking out of the briefing room like the hounds of Hell have been set at his feet. David is unable to stop a frown from twisting his face as he looks after his retreating back forlornly.

“What on earth did you do?” Merlin asks, amazed.

“Why did you assume I did anything?” David asks- perhaps too quickly, as Merlin’s face grows knowing.

“You’re looking at him like how Harry looks at me whenever he stays up past his bedtime when I expressly told him not to,” Merlin explains. “So what did you do?”

“I was annoyed about the reunion,” David says, deciding not to address the issue of their formidable, intimidating Arthur having a bedtime. “Made a stupid comment about obviously having a smuggler in his school and now he won’t talk to me.”

“He’s been on edge,” Merlin says, gathering up his clipboard. “You read the folder, you know Rottie was part of the gang. Eggsy said he’s alright with being handed the mission but he’s been out of sorts.”

“I don’t know what to do,” David says helplessly. Six months into their relationship, and they’re living together with three animals too- yet sometimes, David is at a complete loss on how to deal with Eggsy. Sometimes- like now, for example- Eggsy becomes the approximation of a veritable wall, making David feel like he’s been thrown into the deep end of the pool.

“For one, go to him instead of talking to me,” Merlin suggests. “He needs you, not a sprain in his wrist from shooting too much at the range.”

*

David finds Eggsy at the range, goggles on and back a long line of muscle held rigid and straight. All the bullets shot hit slightly off center- a sign that Eggsy’s not as focused as he should be, because if he was every single shot would have been on target. The first time David had learnt that Eggsy is an expert sniper had been in a bar, when they were playing darts. When every single one had hit the spot perfectly, David had whistled low through his teeth and raised an eyebrow at Eggsy, who’d blushed bright red.

“I was a sniper in the Marines,” Eggsy had said.

“Also secretly Robin Hood,” David had said, and Eggsy had snorted.

Now, he leans against the entrance of the shooting range, waiting for the bullets to run out. When Eggsy shoots, he shoots with the deadly grace of a panther- calm and deliberative, very unlike how he is otherwise. It’s a magnificent sight to behold to see Eggsy in action but right now David can’t appreciate it for what it is, the words from the folder circling in his head like a mantra.

It’s obvious when the bullets run out- the gun clicks and Eggsy sighs audibly, putting down the gun before taking off his earmuffs. “Hey,” he says, turning around.

David approaches him slowly, until he’s close enough to count the freckles in his eyes. This close he’s able to count the individual beads of sweat on Eggsy’s nose, the ridges in the scar nestled into his eyebrow. “Hullo,” he says, taking Eggsy’s hand in his own, rubbing a thumb over his knuckles. “Done being angry at me?”

“Yeah,” Eggsy says, refusing to look up at him. “Sorry. I just-”

“No, I was an idiot,” David cuts in. “I was- I never meant it like that. I was just-” he pauses, and then says frustratedly, “you don’t deserve to take a fuck up like me to your high school reunion. You deserve someone better.”

That causes Eggsy to look up in shock, his eyes wide. “Babe-”

“God, you’re amazing and you deserve to walk back there with someone equally as amazing as you,” David says, the sting of self-deprecation hanging tight in his throat, turning it to stone. “You deserve- you don’t deserve me, with my fucking issues-”

“David, David-” Eggsy leans  up slightly on tip toe til he’s level with David, cupping his hands gently with his face. The look in his eyes is impossibly tender and David closes them, feeling unworthy of being the subject of such warmth. “I couldn’t go back with anyone better than you. The most amazing, wonderful, beautiful boyfriend anyone could ask for- god, David, everyone’s gonna be so fuckin jealous of me.”

David opens his eyes again, snaking his arms around Eggsy’s waist and pulling him in. Eggsy often has a way with words that manage to carve deep, settling right in the very center of his core and registering in a way no one else’s words can. “I was angry in the morning because I- my school’s not exactly Eton,” Eggsy confesses into the space between them. “I kissed a boy behind the bleachers and the next day, someone dunked my head in the toilet and held it there for three minutes until I passed out. It’s- I just don’t want you to think any less of me.”

“I think more of you now,” David says, helping Eggsy back down from being on his tiptoes, leaning his forehead against his. His hands snake up the back of the suit jacket that Eggsy’s wearing- a navy pinstripe, today- to smooth over stiff oxford shirt. For a second he mourns that he can’t just tug up the cloth up until his hands meet skin. “I think the world of you for having gone through that and being who you are.” He drops a kiss on Eggsy’s nose and adds, “Give me the name of the bully.”

“Like hell I will, it happened a long time ago,” Eggsy snorts. “You don’t have to beat up the bullies for me.”

“I will anyway,” David says, making a mental note to approach Merlin anyway. A little sleuthing wouldn’t hurt- maybe Michelle would know who did it. Eggsy sighs, and pecks a kiss on David’s lips.

“Can’t believe Rottie’s smuggling animals now- he used to be Dean’s lackey,” Eggsy says, leaning his head against David’s shoulder. David wraps his own arms around Eggsy more firmly, swaying a little. During the course of their relationship he’s found that holding Eggsy like this is tremendously helpful to his state of health and well being- and for good reason. The warmth that Eggsy radiates is enough to make David feel like he’s walking on air just by wrapping him in an embrace.

“We’ll get him,” David says. “I’ll get a few punches in.”

Eggsy pulls back a little, looking at David right in The Eye. “Not before me,” he warns. “He’s owed a swift kick in the arse for being such a prick all those years- fuckin’ chasin’ me round the estates.”

Anyone connected with Dean is bound to be a shithead of the highest order and so it doesn’t surprise David that he used to torture Eggsy as well- but it does cut at him, to learn this facet about Eggsy’s fairly fucked childhood. “I deserve to break in his nose and treat his spleen like a meat grinder,” David says decisively, watching Eggsy’s eyes darken with heat. “I’m owed that too, if he treated you like shit.”

“God, you’re impossibly sexy when you’re being all protective,” Eggsy announces, throwing his arms around David’s neck and leaning in to kiss him- and then jumping back and almost stepping on David’s foot when the overhead speakers crackle.

“No making out in the shooting range!” Merlin announces over the speakers, his voice sharp and annoyed. “Go fuck in your own house.”

*

Protocol for missions is that they get outfitted at Kingsman HQ, so half past six pm finds David and Eggsy in dressing rooms- separate ones, after that incident last month when Bors had walked in on them in dressing room two- trying on their suits. Andrew down at the shop who designs their suits has tailored an entirely new one for both of them- a navy blue velvet one for David.

“Brings out your eyes,” Andrew had said, handing him the hanger. “You’ll need all the charm you can get. Gawain’s in the room already.”

David stares at himself in the mirror now, blue velvet tapered to his waist and chest, black trousers and bowtie completing the look. Kingsman suits are laced subtly with power in that the minute he puts his tux on he feels the transformation within himself start- from an ex police sergeant and bodyguard to a full-time spy. He automatically sits up straight, takes more notice of his surroundings than he usually does and feels himself talk posher, even. It’s a subtle metamorphism that changes him into someone that he wants Kingsman to be proud of, of being in their employ.

Today, though, David thinks, adjusting the cuffs on his suit, will be different because he’ll have to play the dual role of being Eggsy’s boyfriend  _ and _ an agent on duty. He’ll have to go this event and walk the line between caring lover and partner and responsible, competent agent and if there’s something David hates doing it’s walking the line. “For Eggsy,” David tells his reflection, and belatedly adds, “also for Kingsman.”

After a few more moments of deliberation David opens the door to find Roxy on the couch in the waiting room, legs elegantly folded and the Kingsman catalogue spread out over them. She looks David up and down and grins. “Looking good, David,” she says appraisingly.

“Thank you,” David says awkwardly, turning slightly pink. “Is Eggsy-”

Right on cue, the dressing room doors open and Eggsy steps out as well, running his hands over his own suit. He’s clad in a velvet forest green tuxedo and black trousers, looking like a million bucks and about the most beautiful thing in the room. “This suit is  _ well  _ fit!” Eggsy crows, doing a little twirl. “Andrew, you’re a ledge.”

“Very much welcome, Gawain,” Andrew says, looking amused.

“You look amazing,” David says, stepping closer to Eggsy. “You take my breath away, darling.”

Eggsy stops twirling and looks up at him, blinking. His jaw visibly drops as he takes in David, his roving gaze making his heart beat triplicate. “Me? Look at you, all handsome and- fuck, do we have time for me to-” he makes a crude gesture with his hands, and David turns bright red.

“No,” Roxy says from the couch, turning a page of the catalogue. “For the love of god, leave before I wretch into this catalogue.”

Eggsy huffs, as David quickly carts him away. It wouldn’t do to have Roxy ruin their suits by throwing her shoe at them to break them up- an incident that has happened several times before, on several different occasions.

Uther is waiting outside, leaning against the standard Kingsman taxi and smoking. Once he catches sight of them leaving the tailor shop, he crushes the cigarette beneath his heel and slides into the car. “Fancy for a reunion happening in a gym hall,” he tells Eggsy, as both of them take their seats in the back.

“Oh, fuck you,” Eggsy says disgustedly, as the taxi starts. “Just because I ain’t from fuckin’ Oxford or whatever-”

“I wasn’t from a private school either,” David volunteers, placing a hand over Eggsy’s knee and rubbing it slightly. Almost instantly, Eggsy relaxes, his side going slack against David. “And anyway, they’re full of pricks.”

Uther scoffs. “Too right- I’m glad you didn’t go there, Eggsy. Can’t have too many toffs stuffing up Kingsman.”

Eggsy doesn’t say anything, but there’s a small smile lifting the corners of his lips- all these years later, and the imbalance of status and upbringing still irks at him clear as day. It’s not nearly as much a thorn in his side for David but it does rub him up the wrong way occasionally when a Kingsman agent says the wrong thing or puts their foot in their mouth in a particularly spectacular way. Kingsman, Harry had told him once, would probably never get rid of the classist, elitist feel that came with sticking to posh manners and elegant tuxedos.

“Eggsy and Roxy shook up the status quo,” he’d said thoughtfully, gesturing to the lawn they’d been walking beside. “But too many years of remaining within the purview of the rich and the advantaged. It’s an awfully permanent stench we’ll never get rid of.”

Uther stops the taxi right outside Rowley High. The school is small, David realizes- it only consists of a couple of blocks, the walls whitewashed and grey. Its sparsely decorated with streamers and balloons, a banner over the gateway announcing  _ “School Reunion” _ with the colours a bright splash against the backdrop of what honestly resembles a hospital more than a high school. This is the school Eggsy used to go to for every day of his childhood, David realizes.

“I’ll park around the back,” Uther says, pausing the car. “You two have fun, and place the bug. Merlin will be handling the mission for both of you and I’ll be in the comms link as well.” He twists around in his seat and adds, look on his face a little painful, “Please for the love of god, don’t turn this into Moscow.”

“I keep telling everyone Moscow was fun, and they don’t listen,” David says blithely.

They both slide out of the car, shutting the car doors and stepping up onto the sidewalk. Beside him, Eggsy is stiff and silent, hands held tight by his sides and eyes distant.

“I don’t have bad memories of this place,” he says suddenly. “But Dean was a part of my life while I was stuck in this shithole.” He swallows roughly, the emotion clear in his eyes, and adds, “When you’re a kid who used to ace it all but suddenly start flunking everything and bunking everything as well- teachers just think you aren’t applying yourself. They don’t probe deeper. They looked at me and thought,  _ chav kid, it was expected of him.” _

His voice wavers at the last bit and his own heart aching, David reaches over and grasps his hand with his own, tightly interlocking their fingers until there’s not a single bit of space left here. “You aren’t coming back here with Dean,” he says. “You’re coming back here as a successful Saville Row street tailor. Those teachers won’t know what hit them.”

Eggsy gazes up at him, the look in his eyes achingly adoring. “And I’m coming back here with you,” he says. “My lover.”

Hands linked together, they head towards the building with its twinkling lights and faded streamers.

*

The gym hall is packed with various twenty somethings, all clad in the best outfits money can buy which look, on hindsight, a tad bit ridiculous squeezed into a dingy, rank, sweat soaked bit of enclosed space. The moment David and Eggsy enter, there’s someone shouting their names in unison.

“David! Eggsy! Over here!”

It’s Jamal, who shoves aside a fairly affronted couple in his haste to get to them, one hand balancing a tray of canapes and the other arm around an aggrieved looking Ryan. There’s a huge grin on his face as he shoves the tray into Eggsy’s hands and throws an arm around David, hugging him roughly. “David, mate! Glad to see you here- you likin’ it so far?”

“Not really,” David says, grinning back. Eggsy’s best friends are very much like Eggsy in that they are exuberant and full of life, cussing every second and enthusiastic in everything they do. It’s a nice change up from the army and the Royal services- back there, everyone had lived beneath a carefully constructed façade, including him. Meeting people who were genuine every second of their life had improved David’s own state of well being in ways he didn’t even realise until it had already began.

“Fair enough, this place is a shithole,” Jamal acquiesces. He turns to Eggsy and addressing him, says, “Our principal died, by the way.”

“Good,” Eggsy says, full of relish, before he gives David a sheepish glance and says, “I mean, I hope she wasn’t-”

“Give it up, everyone knows you hated her guts,” Ryan scoffs. “Eggsy here egged her car once- no pun intended.”

“Did you really?” David asks, amused. It does seem like something teenage Eggsy would do, too full of life and rebellious energy to simply work it out from within a classroom.

“I told you I made out with a boy in the bleachers- well, she suspended us for it,” Eggsy says sourly. “She had it coming, the old toad.”

As Eggsy and Jamal talk, catching up on the old days while Ryan steals canapes from the tray, David cranes his neck up and scans the room for Rottie. It’s hard going for a while but after a hot minute of scanning the room painstakingly whilst rooted to one spot he finally sees him- dressed in a horribly ill-fitting suit and leaning against one of the pillars next to the buffet spread. He’s shifty, eyes hooded and shoulders hunched, practically confirming Merlin’s intel.

“That’s him,” Merlin confirms, when David activates the comms link with a tap. “Remember, no fights. Just bump into him and you’re done for the night.”

“If only,” David murmurs, shutting the comms link again. During mild level missions like these Merlin is more than alright with the comms link being shut down instead of constantly active- especially when it comes to Eggsy and himself, whom he claims are far too nauseating on missions together.

There is a lull in Jamal’s and Eggsy’s conversation and Eggsy leans up on his tip toes, muttering in his ear under the guise of pressing a kiss to his cheek, “Found him yet?”

David taps out the morse code for yes on his hand, which he’s still holding tightly.

“Good,” Eggsy breathes. “I’m sick of this place.”

Jamal and Ryan drift off, having taken notice of other classmates they have been missing, and David makes his way over to the buffet table, keeping a tight grip on Eggsy’s hand. Eggsy, he realizes, had been a bit of a rebel and the fact that he’s here now, hair slicked back and decked out in a sharp velvet tux is a shock to many of his schoolmates. Whispers drift around them, keen and some of them, acerbic. None of them, David thinks with an almost sick twist in his stomach, had expected Eggsy to rise to where he is today.

“Shit, that’s Eggsy- he got suspended, didn’t he?”

“Is that Eggsy Unwin? Who egged Principal Hardwick’s car?”

“Yeah- whose prick did he have to suck to get  _ that _ gig?”

That particular whisper makes David’s heart clench, and he stops in his tracks, turning around on his heel to face the offender- a woman with too much makeup caked on and a sneer twisting her face to something venomous standing at the head of a couple of adults. “No one’s,” he says abruptly, the din of the room keeping the words to just the group of them, Eggsy tugging at his arm and whispering to him to just leave it. “He got to where he is- senior tailor at Saville Row street, for your kind information- on his own merit. Which is more than I can say for you- senior manager at KFC’s?”

The woman’s face turns beetroot red with anger, almost apoplectic with anger and David doesn’t wait for an answer, tugging Eggsy along. “That was a very stupid thing, what you did,” Eggsy tells him, as they continue to make their way to the buffet table at the far end of the room. “But I love you for it.”

“No one’s allowed to talk to you like that,” David says, breathing out loudly through his nose. He’s shaking with anger, he realizes- at himself, at the woman and at Eggsy. The many demons they face at work everyday, and this is the one that gets underneath his skin. Eggsy deserved so much more than taunts and jibes by snotty toffs who never grew up after they left high school, but he was sometimes so blind to his own self worth it infuriated David.

“I don’t care if anyone talks about me like that,” Eggsy says, stopping in his tracks and pulling David to a stop as well.  _ “David _ \- hey, David, calm down. It’s alright, I don’t mind.”

“You should,” David tells him, pulling Eggsy closer. There are eyes on them and the whispers surround them like smoke, impenetrable and permeating their little bubble like tiny invincible shards of glass. “I do. I feel like fighting this whole room just for you, fuck what Merlin said.”

“I don’t care,” Eggsy repeats, rubbing David’s shoulders soothingly. The movement is rhythmic and firm, a balm that works instantly at calming him down. They breathe in unison, a separate single entity. “I’m trying not to care. We’re Kingsmen, David- none of this matters.”

The small detour takes up more time than they expect, and Eggsy huffs out loudly when they reach the buffet table and Rottie is gone. “This is ridiculous,” he says, as David picks an éclair from the buffet table and hands it to him. “Did he leave?”

“He has to be here somewhere,” David reasons, picking up an éclair for himself too. “If he’d left, Merlin would have told us- he has eyes on the building.”

“Oh, alright, I-” Eggsy looks at a distant point over David’s shoulder, and his eyes widen. “Ms Camden!”

David turns around on his heel to find a tiny, grey haired lady approach them, clad in a soft white cardigan and sharp trousers. Her face is severe and lined with fine wrinkles, giving off the appearance of someone not to be crossed, though they soften when she approaches them. “Gary Unwin,” she says, the tone of her voice warm. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Eggsy turns red. “Sorry I stopped writing you- I just-”

“It’s perfectly fine, although now that I see you’re doing perfectly fine I won’t terribly oppose you sending me those emails again,” she says, smiling slightly. She holds herself tall despite being at a diminutive height, her eyes clear and striking. David finds himself holding respect for her despite not having talked much to her yet- she commanded it unerringly.

“And who is this young man?” Ms Camden asks, peering up at David. David fights the urge to shift on his feet guiltily, feeling like a ten-year-old child who’s just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“My boyfriend, David Budd,” Eggsy says, pride shining through in his voice as he steps up beside David, their hands brushing. “We met at-”

“A support group,” David interrupts, gripping Eggsy’s hand. “For V day. I was in a bad way and-” he glances at Eggsy who’s looking at him in shock, mouth agape and eyes bright, “-and Eggsy helped me recover. He’s been a godsend, literally.”

“V day took a toll on us all,” Ms Camden says solemnly, rolling up her cardigan sleeve. There’s a long, angry scar that runs all the way from her elbow to her wrist, snaking in a manner that makes David’s own arm ache. From beside him, Eggsy grows still, the tension radiating off him palpable. It could take years for him to get rid of the last vestiges of guilt that remain from not stopping V day in time, each mention or sign of it making the memories of it run red hot again. “This I got from my husband- and we lost our daughter in law, as well.”

“I’m sorry, Ms Camden,” Eggsy says, badly disguising the guilt in his voice.

“Oh, it wasn’t your fault, dear,” Ms Camden says, waving her hands airily. “No one’s fault but that Richmond Valentine’s. People seem to forget that often.” She peers up at Eggsy, and says, “I have to say, Gary, I’m happy you’re doing well. I can see it in the way you carry yourself- I’m glad you’ve found your place. Out of all my students over the years, you both impressed and worried me the most.”

Eggsy turns red, and shifts on his feet. “Thank you, Ms Camden. I’m sorry I was an idiot.”

“We all are at times,” Ms Camden says sagely. “Do keep in touch, Gary dear- your emails used to be the highlight of my day.”

When she leaves, David turns to Eggsy. “Well?”

“My English teacher,” Eggsy explains. “Terrified the whole school, but never me. I think she knew about Dean but never let on- always let me hand in my essays three days late and covered for forms being unsigned.” He smiles and says, “She was absolutely amazing, the best teacher I ever had. It goes a long way sometimes, teachers allowin’ you to flout the rules because they know you don’t have a choice but to break it.”

David wraps a hand around his waist at that statement, feeling the urge to punch Dean in the face. “Come on,” he says instead, knowing Eggsy won’t appreciate the sentiment being verbalized out loud. “Let’s go bug Rottie and get the hell out of here.”

*

After about half an hour of scouring the packed room passes, both of them are forced to throw in the towel and open the comms link to Merlin again. “He’s not anywhere,” Eggsy says furiously, facing David to make it look like they’re having a conversation instead. “It’s like he disappeared into thin air.”

“I’m checking the cameras,” Merlin says, sounding harried. “You two had one job-”

“Excuse me for bein’ a bit out of sorts on my shitty school reunion, Merlin-”

“I asked you if you were emotionally stable enough to do this mission, and you said yes. Forgive me for believing in my agents’ words, Gawain.”

“Merlin, I am  _ not _ in the mood for-”

“Blind spots,” David blurts out, partly to stop their bickering which is starting to give him a migraine. Eggsy stops, looking at him in confusion. “Eggsy, does your school have any blind spots?”

Eggsy’s expression clears, his eyes widening. “Yes, I- two. The spot behind the library and another one next to the pond.”

“He must be in either one, I can’t locate him on cameras at all,” Merlin says frustratedly. “You two will have to split up, there’s not enough time.”

David instantly frowns, the words sending a shock through him. “I’m not splitting up.”

“The reunion will be over in an hour,” Eggsy says, his voice full of worry. He cups David’s face with his hands, forcing him to look him in the eye. “David, it’ll be alright- we’ll keep a comms link open. I’ll take the pond, you take the library.”

“I don’t-” David starts, but Eggsy presses a kiss to his lips and is off like a shot, lithely cutting a swift path through the various milling partygoers until he’s all but a spot darting through the doors. David sighs loudly, palming his own face.

“Stop whining and go, Tristan,” Merlin says, and after flipping his fingers off where Merlin can definitely see, David leaves as well.

Outside of the gym hall, the school is silent and not really all that well lit. The tube lights flicker overhead and the paint peels from the walls, an ugly mash of dark grey and white. A public school that’s not well maintained or cared for- more common than one would think within South London. The walls are intermittently decorated with student art and essays, outlined with silver frames- David notices one that says Gary Unwin, but he can’t stop to look.

He turns a corner and goes down the stairwell, footsteps echoing loudly like an outtake from a Hitchcock flick. The stairwell isn’t lit either, and he goes at twice his usual pace, trying not to let the sound of his own heartbeat freak himself out.

“Rowley High looks like a right fucking nightmare,” Merlin comments. “Take a left, Tristan. Gawain, the library should be up ahead.”

“You don’t need to give me directions, I know where the fucking library is,” Eggsy says, sounding annoyed. “This looks em- oh fuck.”

“What?” David snaps, heart rate speeding up. He comes to a stop, tapping the side of his glasses. “What happened? Why did Eggsy say that?”

“Tristan, go to Gawain,  _ now _ ,” Merlin says sharply and quickly. “Go, go-”

David turns on his heel and runs, one ear on Merlin’s instructions as he instructs him on which route to take. His heart thunders in his ears as his oxfords slap against the tile, stomps that echo like bomb blasts in the quiet of the hallways. God, he knew they shouldn’t have split up, he fucking  _ knew _ it-

He turns a corner and there is Eggsy, in the middle of fighting seven henchmen. He’s ruthlessly beautiful in a fight, body twisting to allow him to knock out two of the henchmen in one go. The glasses miraculously stay on his face as he uses a pillar as a launching pad to wrap his thighs around one of the men’s necks, snapping his neck with a loud crack and shooting another man in the face. Rottie is on the floor by the wall, one hand holding his clearly broken ankle and screaming for help. David sets the timer on his watch to the amnesia dart setting and shoots him, watching with satisfaction as he slumps to the ground before he joins the fray as well.

“It was a meeting with a rich seller,” Eggsy pants, as David breaks another henchman’s neck with a swift uppercut, his back to Eggsy. “He had guards, and you know me. Leaped before looking.”

“I told you we shouldn’t have split up,” David retorts, taking out his gun and shooting another henchman in the neck. The spray of blood practically paints the wall and David winces- not subtle at all. “You ran off immediately, you impulsive brat-”

“You love me for it- watch out, that man has a fucking knuckleduster.”

He does, and David feels it too, the fist plowing into his stomach like a steel tipped hurricane. He wheezes, doubling over and watches through slightly teary eyes as Eggsy practically launches himself at the man, punching him over and over again until the man’s face is a bloody pulpy mess.

“Eggsy,” David croaks softly, and when Eggsy doesn’t react, punching the henchman over and over again he raises his voice louder, massaging the quickly forming bruise on his stomach.  _ “Eggsy!” _

Eggsy looks over, eyes wild with anger and fear. He looks back at the man he’s straddling before swallowing, standing up and wiping his bloody knuckles on his filthy trousers. “I- are you okay?”

“I’m alright,” David says, attempting a smile as he straightens up slowly. “I’m okay, darling. It’s over now.”

Eggsy swallows, nodding before walking over, wrapping David in a loose embrace. He’s shaking, David realizes, the thought of it tearing at him. “I wiped Rottie’s memory,” he says instead. “We’ll just leave him in the toilet with a whiskey bottle- he’ll think he got drunk after the meeting.”

“Good plan,” Eggsy says, and then breathes in deeply. “Can we just- stand here for a bit?”

“Of course, darling,” David says, and they remain in an embrace in the middle of the filthy, blood-soaked hallway, swaying slightly with the force of it.

*

They lock Rottie in a toilet cubicle after bugging him with a chip, an empty whiskey bottle taken from the Kingsman taxi set beside him with his arms arranged so as to give the impression of someone who’s gotten blind drunk. They wash up in the sink, Eggsy staying still and staring at the water going pink until David peppers a soft kiss to the side of his head and takes over scrubbing the blood from his nails. The bruise aches in the side of his stomach, a dull throbbing beat.

“You made the mission go tits up so cleanup crew will be over in an hour to tidy up the hallway,” Merlin says sourly into the comms link as they finally bundle themselves into the cab, Eggsy pale and quiet. “Debriefing with Arthur tomorrow at twelve pm- don’t be late and make my blood pressure spike any higher.”

“We bugged him, though,” Eggsy speaks up, voice level. “Mission accomplished, innit?”

“Fuck you both,” Merlin says, killing the link.

Eggsy goes quiet after that, laying his head on David’s shoulder as they watch the city lights blur. His hand is a white knuckled fist on his knee, and after a while David takes a hold of it, wrapping his fingers around it and coaxing it open. His eyes are distant and pensive, and while it kills David to not know what’s going on behind them he doesn’t ask.

The cab rolls to a stop and after Uther reminding them again of the debriefing they walk slowly to the front door. The animals are at Vicky’s for the night, so no one comes running to greet them either, the house silent and still. It almost reminds David of Rowley High’s quiet hallways except for the key difference being that the house gives off less of a chill.

The minute David closes the front door on them Eggsy is on him, pressing him back against it and kissing him with a ferocity rivalled only by how David kisses him back. “Off, off,” Eggsy says, tugging at his clothes as David presses rough kisses to his cheek and down his neck, sliding the velvet jacket down his arms and tossing it to the floor in a manner Andrew would most definitely disapprove of. There’s a raw desperation to his words and his movements as he grips at David’s hair and back, telling David that this isn’t just post mission euphoric sex- this runs deeper.

They keep on kissing fiercely, Eggsy jumping up and wrapping his legs around David’s waist. It is a feat to carry him all the way to the bedroom, not helped at all by his bruise, or the way Eggsy presses little nips and kisses to David’s shoulder and collarbone.

“Your bruise- put me down,” Eggsy pants, moaning as David adjusts his hold on him, scraping his teeth down the bone jutting in his shoulder.

“Fuck my bruise,” David says, smiling when Eggsy laughs.

Once in the room, clothes fly off in a flurry, Eggsy fumbling with David’s shirt buttons until he angrily curses and rips it off instead.

“Andrew’s not going to be happy,” David says, partly amused and partly concerned.

“Andrew’s not here,” Eggsy says, tugging his belt open. Normally David would let the activities proceed as they are, but this time he places his hands on Eggsy’s, stilling them. “Hey,” he says softly, concerned. “Easy, love- it’s just you and me.”

Eggsy’s breath hitches, and he continues to look down at their feet. His hands are shaking, David realizes with a pang. The school reunion had taken its toll on him- a toll too heavy. Instead of commenting on it, he kisses Eggsy’s forehead, whispering, “I love you.”

“Please,” Eggsy whispers, as David undoes his belt instead, the movement slow and assuring, before gently removing the rest of their clothes bit by bit. “Please,” he whispers, as David kisses down his neck and his chest, pressing open mouthed kisses down each prominent rib and over the jut of his hipbone. “Please,” he whispers, as David laves his tongue over each beauty mark on his thigh, the skin beneath trembling with anticipation and emotion. The room is dark and quiet save for the quiet whimpers and hitches in Eggsy’s breath, the ambience turning soft and achingly sweet. In the beating space of their hearts- Eggsy’s wild and thundering, David’s calm and slow- they live, untethered.

“Darling,” David says, kissing over Eggsy’s shoulder as he crooks his fingers inside Eggsy, listening to the breaks between each of Eggsy’s whines and moans. “Darling, darling, darling-” he repeats the endearment over and over, watching Eggsy move on his fingers like a practiced dance to the beat, a choreographed movement they’ve honed over their months together. Eggsy’s pupils are blown wide, dilated with arousal and emotion, his cheeks pink with exertion and his fringe flopping over his clammy forehead- and David thinks he has never seen anything more ethereal in his life. If the queen were to barge in, he wouldn’t notice- his whole world is now and will always be focused on Eggsy.

He slides on the condom and enters Eggsy, scrutinizing his face for any signs of discomfort. The minute he’s flush against Eggsy, not a breath of space left between them he stops, breathing in unison with the movement of Eggsy’s chest. Eggsy’s heart thunders, a wild, beating thing.

They stay like that for a few second, David pressing his mouth to Eggsy’s collarbone before Eggsy digs the heels of his feet into the small of his back and says, voice broken and raw,  _ “Move.” _

This too, is a dance they’re both familiar with- a movement in the dark, two souls in one. Eggsy is beautiful like this, fucking himself back on David and throwing his head back, his eyes closed and his lips falling open. The tendons in his neck stand out in sharp contrast and David presses sharp kisses over them, using judicious application of his teeth to make his own mark. All the people in the world, and Eggsy’s chosen him to bless, him to love, him to stay with. A thousand years could go on and David would still be absolutely head over heels in love with this man.

“David, love-” Eggsy says, gasping in the way he does right before he’s about to come. David knows this because he has studied and learned the language of Eggsy’s body- which are the spots that make him laugh, which are the spots that make him double over, which are the spots that make him moan and scream. He tongues a kiss to the gap between Eggsy’s collarbones and only after Eggsy comes, back arched and gasping for breath, does he allow himself to.

For a while they lay there, sticky and sweaty in the aftermath, before David pulls out, covering Eggsy’s wince with a kiss. He ties off the condom and throws it into the wastebasket before getting a washcloth and cleaning the both of them up. Once he’s done he chucks the dirty washcloth where their clothes lay, coming back to bed to lay his head back on Eggsy’s chest. Eggsy sighs shakily, his hands reaching up and combing through David’s hair as David continues laying his head on his chest, breathing heavily. “Today was rough,” Eggsy admits quietly, into the air. “I’m glad its over.”

“You lost control for a while there,” David says, propping his chin up on Eggsy’s chest. In the dark, Eggsy’s eyes are luminous, hiding nothing. “You alright?”

“I just- I love you,” Eggsy says quietly. “Going with you made me realise- I have a life bigger than that. But for those few hours, they made me feel small again.” He sighs again, shaky. He reaches for David’s hair again, but this time David catches it with his own, bringing the fingers to his lips for a kiss. He rubs a finger over the knuckles, swollen and bruised.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” Eggsy says. “Even if you kinda had to, because mission.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” David says softly. He tightens his grip on Eggsy’s hand and continues, “Even if there hadn’t been a mission- I would have gone with you anyway. We would have bitched about your stupid classmates and found a closet to make out in. I would have taken you to Chipotle’s after. I would go to the ends of the world with you, Eggsy.”

“Oh, my love,” Eggsy whispers, smiling tremulously. There are the beginnings of tears in his eyes but they don’t fall- they rarely ever do. “I love you so much, you know that?”

“I love you too,” David says. He loves Eggsy so much his heart threatens to burst out of his chest with the force of it, the very emotion he feels for him threatening to overwhelm him. It’s always been like this with Eggsy- he hadn’t even realized he’d fallen this hard for the man until it had been far too late and every breath he took had been for him only. “God, Eggsy- I would do anything for you to have had a great time tonight.”

“I did, darling,” Eggsy says, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Only with you by my side.”

**Author's Note:**

> let's pretend david's abs are strong enough to let him carry eggsy like that without collapsing in pain  
> if you liked it please leave a comment and/or kudos


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